Under the patronage of H.E Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Abu Dhabi University announced the launch of the fourth annual “United Arab Emirates Undergraduate Student Research Competition (UGSRC)” to showcase, recognize and promote innovative student research conducted at any higher educational institution throughout the nation. In its fourth consecutive year, the competition’s values of encouraging young researchers to explore methods of extending their knowledge and adopting a -think outside the box- attitude, as well as enhancing their critical and analytic thinking, go hand in hand with the recent initiative that dubbed 2016 as the “Year of Reading”.

Participants of the nation-wide UAE-UGSRC will have the opportunity of presenting their results in a nationwide competition, to be held on ADU’s campus on 17th of May 2016.

The announcement was made during a press conference held yesterday (Monday 18th of January) on Abu Dhabi University’s campus in the presence of Dr. Nabil Ibrahim Chancellor of Abu Dhabi University, Dr. Richard Gibb Provost of ADU, Dr. Ashraf Khalil Director of Research at ADU, Dr. Aly Nazmy Dean of ADU’s College of Engineering, Dr. Jacob Chacko Dean of ADU’s College of Business Administration, Mr. Charles Diab Director of University Advancement and Professor Martina Newell Division Manager for Research from Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC).

Commenting on the competition, Dr. Nabil Ibrahim Chancellor of Abu Dhabi University explained that perhaps the biggest testament of the significance of this nation-wide competition is its continued success in attracting more and more students from various institutions of higher education across the UAE, who come together and showcase their creative and innovative scientific research endeavors in the fields of engineering, business administration, arts and natural sciences information technology, education, humanities as well as various others. “When the UAE-UGSRC was first launched in 2013, the competition attracted around 100 research submissions from undergraduate students. In its second year, we received around 200 research submissions. However, in 2015 students from diverse disciplines across the UAE rallied to highlight and promote the importance of developing an undergraduate research culture, which resulted in the competition’s organizing committee receiving more than 350 research submissions by student teams representing 25 higher education institutions from all across the United Arab Emirates. These teams presented their creative research methods and ideas to 60 professors and experts from industry and academia who chose the 32 winning teams of the 3rd UAE- UGSRC awarding them a total of around 120,000 AED”, said Dr. Ibrahim.

Dr. Ibrahim stressed that the phenomenal success of the “United Arab Emirates Undergraduate Student Research Competition” has ignited creative spirits across the country and cleared the path for young researchers to explore and master different analytical and critical skills. “The competition’s success could not have been possible without the patronage and support of His Excellency Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, which affirms the keenness of the UAE’s wise leadership in fostering and encouraging a quantum leap in the nation’s scientific research outputs as it plays a vital role in the country’s sustainable development process”, added Dr. Ibrahim.

On his part, Dr. Ashraf Khalil Director of Research at ADU pointed out that the 4th UAE-UGSRC derives its importance from its role in refuting the mistaken belief that scientific research skills are a necessity only at the postgraduate level. “With today’s constantly changing technical, scientific, socio-economic developments, research skills and critical and analytical thinking are imperative to prepare university students for their professional lives and give them a global competitive edge”, concluded Dr. Khalil.

Expressing the support of Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) for the 4th UAE- UGSRC, Professor Martina Newell, Division Manager for Research (ADEC) explained that in the United States and Europe it’s not uncommon for undergraduate students to be involved in research, however such a unique and nationwide competition is quite a rare sight. “I had the pleasure of being a part of last year’s competition and I was quite amazed at the ingenuity of the research that students were presenting as well as the quality of their work and accuracy of their findings. It truly is a tribute to Abu Dhabi University’s success and the wise leadership of the United Arab Emirates who continuously encourage the shift to a knowledge-based economy”, said Prof. Newell.

The 4th “Annual United Arab Emirates Undergraduate Student Research Competition” emphasizes research in Engineering including: Architecture and Urban Planning, Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Project and Engineering Management, and Chemical Engineering. While research projects in Arts and Social Sciences can cover: Mathematics, Public Relations and Mass Communications, Psychology, Sociology and Statistics. Applications in the Natural and Health Sciences category can include: Energy, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Health and Safety, Occupational Health, and Public Health. Or in Business Administration: Accounting/ Finance, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Human Resources Management, Management, Management Information Systems, and Marketing. Furthermore, while in Information Technology research projects can be in Artificial Intelligence Applications and Mobile Applications. The Education category covers Instructional Technologies, Gifted and Special Needs.

The competition accepts student teams, which can consist of up to 4 students from one or several universities. Once registration for the UAE-UGSRC ends on 15th of February, the 100 shortlisted teams will be selected and announced on 28th of February to present their research projects during the closing ceremony at ADU on May 17th .To register for the competition visit: http://aduws.adu.ac.ae/aduforms/ugsrc/

Add a new comment

Background information

The dream began with the Charter of Abu Dhabi University in the year 2000, After three years of planning, the university opened its doors in September 2003, to an entering class of 1,000 students on its two campuses in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Unlike other colleges and universities in the UAE, ADU undertook the measures necessary to ensure that all of the degree programs it would offer had secured accreditation from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in advance of any students enrolling in them.More...

The dream began with the Charter of Abu Dhabi University in the year 2000, After three years of planning, the university opened its doors in September 2003, to an entering class of 1,000 students on its two campuses in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Unlike other colleges and universities in the UAE, ADU undertook the measures necessary to ensure that all of the degree programs it would offer had secured accreditation from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in advance of any students enrolling in them.

ADU offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees based upon the American model of higher education.